Dental prophylaxis apparatus

ABSTRACT

A dental prophylaxis device including a rotary pliable cupshaped tooth-engaging member formed with paste-impelling patterns on its outside walls which urge the paste toward the tooth under the effects of rotation, and a resilient wiper finger attached to the handpiece which drives the pliable cup adapted to wipe against the side wall of the cup above the tooth surface and capable of yielding with distortion of the cup under pressure against the tooth, thus preventing migration of paste backward toward the driving mechanism and further precluding buildup of paste and saliva on the outside walls preventing splattering.

United States Patent [191 Spinello [54] DENTAL PROPHYLAXIS APPARATUS Ronald P. Spinello, 372 Post Avenue, Westbury, N.Y. 1 1590 [76] Inventor:

[ Notice: The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Nov. 23, 1988, has been disclaimed.

[22] Filed: Nov. 8, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 196,364

52 us. Cl .32/59 511 Int. Cl ..A6lc 3/06 [58] Field of Search ..32/53, 59; 15/25 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,738,528 3/1956 Fridge, Sr ..l5/97 1i *Apr. 17, 1973 3,091,033 5/1963 Ellman ..32/58 Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock Attorney-James A. Eisenman et al.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT A dental prophylaxis device including a rotary pliable cup-shaped tooth-engaging member formed with paste-impelling patterns on its outside walls which urge the paste toward the tooth under the effects of rotation, and a resilient wiper finger attached to the handpiece which drives the pliable cup adapted to wipe against the side wall of the cup above the tooth surface and capable of yielding with distortion of the cup under pressure against the tooth, thus preventing migration of paste backward toward the driving mechanism and further precluding buildup of paste and saliva on the outside walls preventing splattering.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 1 Y 1913 FIG.2

FIG.4

FIG.5

INVENTOR' RONALD P. SPINELLO ZbWM IW ATTORNEYS 1 DENTAL PROPHYLAXIS APPARATUS CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS This application represents a modification of an invention disclosed in application Ser. No. 33,770, filed May 1, 1970 and now U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,577, issued in said pending application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to dental prophylaxis apparatus and, more particularly, to the type of prophylaxis apparatus which includes a rotary pliable cup member which is adapted to be pressed against tooth surfaces in the presence of a cleaning paste, such as a slurry containing pumice.

One of the most common techniques used by dentists for cleaning teeth involves the preparation of a slurry of pumice or similar abrasive agents, which is typically pre-mixed and brought to the dental chair in an open vessel. The pumice is picked up by dipping a rotary rubber tip, usually in the shape of a tiny cup having flaring walls and attached to a power-driven dental tool.

' The abrasive action of the pumice at the interface with the surface of the rotating cup performs the necessary cleaning function. Pumice is lost due to splattering which is annoying to both the patient and the dentist, and the unauthorized migration of pumice backward into the driving mechanism causes rapid destruction of the equipment.

In the applicants copending application Ser. No. 33,770, filed May 1, 1970, there is disclosed dental prophylaxis apparatus in which the pliable rotary toothengaging cup member has brought to its side walls, by means of resilient feeding finger, a supply of pumice from an expendible vial. The extruding tip of the vial also serves as a wiper yieldably engaging the side wall of the cup to help block the backward migration of the pumice and also to break down accumulations of saliva and pumice which lead to splattering. The present invention represents a modification of the expendible vial concept disclosed in the pending application by providing a yieldable wiping finger used in an arrangement in which pumice is brought to the cup shaped member by more conventional means, such as hand-dipping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION cleaning member, and also forms an angle to the axis of rotation thereof so that, as the rotating cleaning member is pressed against a tooth surface, causing it to expand or flare outwardly, the wiper finger can yield in compliance therewith, all the while maintaining engagement with the wall. The finger is contoured and angled to engage the pliable cup on the far side of center, in the direction of rotation. The side wall of the cup is formed with impellers in the form of diagonal elements, such as grooves or ribs which, under the rotational forces, urge the cleaning compound toward the tooth surface. A buildup of pumice and saliva is prevented by the continuous proximity of the wiper finger to the side wall of the rotating cleaning member, thus preventing splattering.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 11 is a side view of a dentist "s power-driven handpiece equipped for dental prophylaxis showing the present invention incorporated therein;

FIG. 2 is another side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 as seen from a point slightly less than 90 away;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are side views corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively, showing the action of the apparatus when pressed against a tooth surface;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view in perspective showing how the apparatus is assembled; and

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, illustrating a modification of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing, the invention is illustrated as embodied in a dental prophylaxis assembly including a power handpiece 10 including a. rotary internal shaft (not shown) which is conventional in dental practice, and coupled thereto an angle or power head 11 by means of which the axis of rotation is turned 90. Attached to the rotary output shaft 11a is a rotary toothengaging member 12 in the form of a pliable cup flaring gently outwardly toward its outer end. Typically, such cleaning members are formed of soft rubber or plastic and are expendible. When pressed endwise against a tooth surface in the presence of the cleaning compound, the member distorts to accommodate varying pressures and tooth surface contours and effects the scrubbing and polishing action necessary to remove stains and impurities from the tooth surface. The internal surfaces of such cups are typically patterned or embossed to augment the scrubbing action. In accordance with the invention and also as disclosed in said copending application, the outer surface of the cleaning member is formed with impelling means in the form of diagonal or inclined grooves 12a which urge paste accumulations on the member axially forward toward the free or working end by camming or wedging action.

Attached to the handpiece 10 at the point of its coupling between the angle or power head 11 is a wiper finger l3. Mounting is accomplished in the illustrated embodiment of the invention by means of an annulus 14 which surrounds a threaded extension onto which the angle 11 is screwed, with the annulus 14 being clamped between opposed shoulders, all as best seen in FIG. 5. The wiper finger 13 includes a flattened contoured tip portion 16, the radius of curvature of which corresponds approximately to that of the cleaning member 12. As best seen in FIG. 2, the tip 16 of the wiper member is disposed on the far side of the rotary cup-shaped cleaning member in the direction of rota tion so that, at the points of engagement, the surface of the cup member is moving generally away from the finger The suspension of the wiper tip is resiliently yieldable so that it is capable of complying with distortions in the shape of the cleaning member by moving both axially and radially with respect to the axis of rotation. To this end, the tip 16 is supported on a first flexible extension arm 17 extending radially away from the axis of the cup-shaped member, and a second extension arm 18 folded back on the first to extend radially toward the cup-shaped member to a point of conjunction with the mounting annulus 14.

In operation, a charge of cleaning compound is applied to the tip of the tooth-engaging member 12 by any suitable means, such for example by dipping into a reservoir, and brought to bear against a tooth surface while under relatively high speed rotation. Polishing and abrasion occur at the interface with the tooth surface as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 and, as the cup distorts, the tip 16 of the wiper finger tracks the motion by moving both radially outwardly as seen in FIG. 4, and axially inwardly as seen in FIG. 3. During the course of cleaning, accumulations of the cleaning compound and the saliva are broken down by the action of the wiper finger which additionally tends to form a barrier to migration of these materials toward the driving head. The inclined impeller surfaces 12 also function to urge accumulated materials axially forward toward the tooth surface.

A modification of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 in which the wiper finger takes the form of a helical member 19 attached to the angle or power head 11 to surround the cup-shaped cleaning member with clearance except for the working tip 20 which cor responds generally to the tip 16 of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-4.

While the invention has been described above in conjunction with the illustrated embodiments, it will be understood that it can take various other shapes and forms within the scope of the invention. For example, the working tip of the wiper finger can be suspended in a variety of ways and, in addition, the impeller means 12a, illustrated as taking the form of grooves, can also be formed as ridges. The invention should not, therefore, be limited except as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Dental prophylaxis apparatus comprising a handpiece and rotary power source, a rotary pliable cupshaped cleaning member coupled to the handpiece and adapted to be pressed against tooth surfaces in conjunction with a prophylactic paste medium, and a wiper finger carried by the handpiece to brush against the outer side wall of the rotary pliable cleaning member between the handpiece and the tooth-engaging surface to form a barrier to the migration of prophylactic paste toward the handpiece and to break down paste-saliva accumulations, said prophylactic medium being adapted to be introduced to the interface between the tooth and the pliable cup-shaped cleaning member by application of the paste to the member externally of and at a point spaced from said wiper finger.

2. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as in claim 1, said wiper finger being resiliently supported to yield with flexing motion of the pliable cup-shaped member.

3. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as in claim 1, said wiper finger being flattened in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the cleaning member and concavely contoured to establish a line of contact therewith. v

4. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as in claim 1, including impeller means on the side wall of the pliable member to urge prophylactic paste toward the interface between the member and the tooth under the influence of rotary motion.

5. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as in claim 4, said impeller means comprising diagonal grooves in the side wall of the pliable cleaning member.

6. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said wiper finger being resiliently mounted to yield both parallel and perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the cupshaped cleaning member, whereby the wiper finger will yield when the cup-shaped member flares outwardly when pressed against a tooth surface.

7. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as set forth in claim 6, said wiper finger including a contoured tip having a curvature substantially confonning to the curvature of the rotary cup-shaped member and being adapted to engage the rotary cup-shaped member on the side thereof which has components of motion away from the wiper finger.

8. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as set forth in claim 7, said wiper finger comprising a spring finger having a first elongated portion extending away from the cupshaped member substantially parallel to the axis of the handpiece and a second elongated portion folded back on the first to extend toward the cup-shaped member, and means to attach the second elongated portion to the handpiece.

9. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as set forth in claim 8, said handpiece including a head portion having a generally right-angled bend therein and a shank portion to which the head portion is detachably secured, said means to attach the wiper finger to the handpiece being adapted to be inserted in the coupling between the shank and the head. 

1. Dental prophylaxis apparatus comprising a handpiece and rotary power source, a rotary pliable cup-shaped cleaning member coupled to the handpiece and adapted to be pressed against tooth surfaces in conjunction with a prophylactic paste medium, and a wiper finger carried by the handpiece to brush against the outer side wall of the rotary pliable cleaning member between the handpiece and the tooth-engaging surface to form a barrier to the migration of prophylactic paste toward the handpiece and to break down paste-saliva accumulations, said prophylactic medium being adapted to be introduced to the interface between the tooth and the pliable cup-shaped cleaning member by application of the paste to the member externally of and at a point spaced from said wiper finger.
 2. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as in claim 1, said wiper finger being resiliently supported to yield with flexing motion of the pliable cup-shaped member.
 3. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as in claim 1, said wiper finger being flattened in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the cleaning member and concavely contoured to establish a line of contact therewith.
 4. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as in claim 1, including impeller means on the side wall of the pliable member to urge prophylactic paste toward the interface between the member and the tooth under the influence of rotary motion.
 5. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as in claim 4, said impeller means comprising diagonal grooves in the side wall of the pliable cleaning member.
 6. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said wiper finger being resiliently mounted to yield both parallel and perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the cup-shaped cleaning member, whereby the wiper finger will yield when the cup-shaped member flares outwardly when pressed against a tooth surface.
 7. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as set forth in claim 6, said wiper finger including a contoured tip having a curvature substantially conforming to the curvature of the rotary cup-shaped member and being adapted to engage the rotary cup-shaped member on the side thereof which has components of motion away from the wiper finger.
 8. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as set forth in claim 7, said wiper finger comprising a spring finger having a first elongated portion extending away from the cup-shaped member substantially parallel to the axis of the handpiEce and a second elongated portion folded back on the first to extend toward the cup-shaped member, and means to attach the second elongated portion to the handpiece.
 9. Dental prophylaxis apparatus as set forth in claim 8, said handpiece including a head portion having a generally right-angled bend therein and a shank portion to which the head portion is detachably secured, said means to attach the wiper finger to the handpiece being adapted to be inserted in the coupling between the shank and the head. 